Elder Kremer is serving a two-year mission in Salt Lake City South. I thought people would like to know the updates. When he returns he will be attending BYU-Idaho.

Monday, August 29, 2016

Mission XP - 29 August 2016

Goooood Morrrning

So to start off this week's letter, my companion Elder Costa is from Brazil! He has been in America for three of the five months he has been serving. He only started learning English 8 weeks ago and is doing pretty darn good. I have witnessed him give a blessing in perfect English and many other thing that testify to me how much he follows the spirit. I love my companion. He is inspiring and I have such a love for him and a desire for him to stay diligent and keep this passion and love he has for those around him. He has so much I know he wishes he could say to people and I want to help him, as best I can, express it better through words.

Monday was good...but very boring. We didn't do much. Ok I take that back we played ping pong and I have gotten good at that. Haha, it seems I also do horrible at the being of playing something but I gradually get better and better the more we play even in just one sitting. So mycompanion saw how bad I was and he said in his broken English, "Elder do you want to play for real and if I win you give me something Batman" he smiled huge, then I said, "wait what do I get if I win?" He replied with a shrug. I laughed, "how about whoever wins gives the other person something Batman..." "Ok" he said. So we played to 15. Thank goodness I learned the rules to ping pong from the Hermansens! I won. He smiled and said "2 out of 3"..."ok" I won again by a little more (and keep in mind he is actually good, I think he made the deal cause he saw he was better than me and it would be an easy acquire of something Batman...but come on! I'm playing for something Batman no XD it's on) he told me, "Elder I do not get it...you are good now..why?"It was so funny. So we ended up playing best out of five and in the end I won 3 and he won 2 but I'm not going to make him get me something Batman I was just playing for fun. We also had a lesson with Laina!

Tuesday was district meeting day...yay...~sarcasm~ <-- that, by the way, is not the culture in Brazil I guess. Elder Costa had to get used to that in America haha. He has been learning a lot from me. We had another lesson with Laina!

Wednesday was District Leader Training and it was good but I have a very strange mind that I'm trying to figure out why and what I've been learning is I am motivated to do something. I have plans. But if I get trained on doing something a similar way I was going to do it, I get less motivated to do it because I feel like the only reason I would do it is because I was told. So the meeting wasn't as uplifting for me but then I snapped back into a good missionary and focused again. I am learning more and more about me. But I feel I'm handling things a little better now. For sure I'm more organized as a district leader. My first week was chaotic. So many new things and people I have to remember. Who is serving in what areas. Who is on date to be baptized. Who is solid and projected. How I can motivate my distict and always give advice...let me tell you I don't think I have ever been good at comforting someone. I usually am the one who gets awkwardly quite and prays that the silence somehow helps the other person 😶 I'm learning how to do it now though hats for sure. Anyway this week I got my white board. I got my dry erase marker. And boy I was on that board with details. We got to teach an awesome man who is trying to come back to church again. He is living with his sister who...isn't anti but isn't not anti...I talked to him about President Uchtdorf's talk on a shower of heavenly blessings. It came to my mind after he said something specific. It was a great experience.

Thursday we did...actually I thing District Leader Training was today? I can't remember but I know that we went out with Ward Mission Leaders again and we weren't abe to talk to anyone until the very end. We got into his car and saw sombody walking up the street and I asked him if he knew them and he said he wasn't sure but he might. So we got out and talked to them it. It ended up being less actives and they let us in and we talked for a bit then shared a message. We got home around 9:15 and my split felt bad because we made my companion and his split wait but I told him don't worry about it this is the Lord's work and this was His appointment they will understand. And understood they did! But it was a cool miracle.

Friday...let's not talk about the long day that Friday was.

Saturday we were able to witness Laina Turnbull get baptized today!!! She was beeming! It was a wonderful experience for her and her family who are inactive. That's right. She is 10 and her parents are inactive but she had such a desire to get baptized she has been comming to churchon her own, reading, praying, she is just so amazing and such an example for her family. She will lead them back to the blessings that come from obeying Heavenly Father.

Sunday we went to Laina's confirmation. I spoke in that ward...my thanks goes out to the Bishop that gave me 17 hours heads up lol but it was still good. We should always have the gospel on the tip of our toungue. Then we went to Stake Conference. Then we used the rest of normal church time to try and find a new investigator.

My studies were very good this week. I found President Gordan B. Hinckley's book, "Stand a Little Taller". We used to read that everyday. And I love the quote at the very front, "Though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day"...simple but powerful as it taught me of the importance and eternal principle of repentance in another way. Our physical body will die. It will degrade. However it will be ressurected no matter what with the gift that will be given to all mankind. But our spirits will not have a resurrection, rather we are strengthening them as we access the Atonement not just when we make a huge mistake, not just when we takethe sacrament, but as we truly learn to access the Atonement daily and allow it to change us. This principle is as eternal as God's plan for families. At least, this is what I understand from what I've been feeling more as I've prayed.